Alexander Hamilton

I admit I have never seen the hit Broadway play of this incredible Founding Father. I was browsing my local library when I came across Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton. It definitely did not disappoint. I knew about his poverty-stricken childhood on the island of St. Croix. However, I never realized the impact Hamilton had on the fledgling creation of the new government of the United States of America.

Considering the United States has some of the worst leadership now, including the current individual in the White House, who hasn’t the slightest clue about the founding principles of the United States. I doubt if the man has ever read a history book!! I almost wish Hamilton could be resurrected. For example during the fighting against the British, Hamilton studied military history. Chernow states:

Hamilton embarked on a comprehensive military education. With his absorbent mind, he mastered infantry drills, pored over volumes on military tactics, and learned the rudiments of gunnery and pyrotechnics from a veteran bombardier.

Hamilton fit the type of the self-improving autodidact, employing all his spare time to better himself. He aspired to the eighteenth-century aristocratic ideal of the versatile man conversant in every area of knowledge. Thanks to his pay book[notebook] we know that he read a considerable amount of philosophy, including Bacon, Hobbes, Montaigne, and Cicero. He also perused histories of Greece, Prussia, and France. While other Americans dreamed of a brand new society that would expunge all traces of effete European civilization, Hamilton humbly studied those societies for clues to the formation of a new government. Unlike Jefferson, Hamilton never saw the creation of America as a magical leap across a chasm to an entirely new landscape, and he always thought the New World had much to learn from the Old.

For someone who developed The Federalist Papers in getting Americans to support the Constitution, its a testament to his intelligence, and his respect for setting the foundations of this new nation, and getting it right. From reading this biography I got the sense Hamilton always felt the need to prove himself. Coming from an impoverished background gave him a sort of complex which fueled his ambition. I find that admirable, and one main reason why I respect this man so much. Yet he was a hothead who would not always listen to reason. It should be noted Hamilton was only 49 years old when he died from a gunshot wound from dueling against his political nemesis Aaron Burr. At the time this bizarre relic was slowly being phased out with local legislation as well as cultural changes.

Despite his son Phillip dying from a duel defending Hamilton’s honor, which led to a deep, intense depression. One would have thought Hamilton would reconsider participating in this barbarous practice, and consider his large family he needed to support. It was tragic and senseless.

Overall this was an excellent biography for which I highly recommend. Hamilton’s handsome face is on our $10 bill. Where are all the Hamilton like figures in the United States? We should all aspire to have the intellectual and moral life of the great Alexander Hamilton!

Bookish Babe